This paper provides the first estimates of the effect of unemployment insurance (UI) on drug overdose deaths. Exploiting both time-series and cross-sectional variation in UI generosity generated by federal and state UI laws, we estimate that a one standard deviation increase in UI generosity...

For almost two decades, Virginia has used risk assessment to justify “alternative” nonprison sentences for eligible drug and property offenders. In Study 1, we examined how frequently alternative sentences actually were imposed. We found that alternative sentences were given to only 42% of...

Drug control policy can have unintended consequences by pushing existing users to alternative, possibly more dangerous substances. Policies that target only new users may therefore be especially promising. Using commercial insurance claims data, we provide the first evidence on a set of new...

Objective: To estimate the causal effect of a medical marijuana initiative on suicide risk. In 1996, California legalized marijuana use for medical purposes. Implementation was abrupt and uniform, presenting a “natural experiment.”Method: Total, gun and non-gun suicides were aggregated by...

Misuse of prescription opioids is a leading cause of premature death in the United States. We use new state government administrative data and machine learning methods to examine whether the risk of future opioid dependence, abuse, or poisoning can be predicted in advance of an initial opioid...

A number of antitrust cases have challenged firm conduct associated with the introduction of a new product. Several are in the pharmaceutical industry and have earned the moniker of “product hopping.” Other cases involve the design of interfaces that defeat interoperability and the supply of...

This paper examines the spillover effects of promotions when products from different firms are consumed in a bundle. Using data from the HIV/AIDS category, a canonical example of combination therapy, we estimate a hierarchical Bayesian logit model across treatment regimens and show that...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is becoming a major global public health threat and has begun to command attention from European and US policy makers. An initial focus on monitoring AMR and conserving existing treatments by cutting down on misuse has been complemented by moves towards addressing...

Many medical marijuana patients report using marijuana to alleviate chronic pain from musculoskeletal problems and other sources. If marijuana is used as a substitute for powerful and addictive pain relievers in medical marijuana states, a potential overlooked positive impact of medical...